The Invasion

21 | Deja vu

I'm positively sure that I might die this time, and the first person I think of was him.

Zarius!

Zarius!

Za–

Strong arms sweep around me, and I feel myself floating up to the surface. When my head's above water, I cough and gasp out loud for fresh air, thanking the stars for being alive.

Still clutching Zarius's arms, I realize he has me cradled against his chest. I place my hands on his broad shoulders that's covered in the black latex-material suit he's wearing. Water runs off him in rivulets and gleams his face. The sides of his exposed neck, which were covered in inkings before, are now showing lines of gills. Now, he appears a little less human and more of an actual merfolk.

Is this the 'morphing' thing that he mentioned before?

Because I think he looks several times hotter this way.

I peer at him through my wet eyelashes. My heart is still pounding as fast as before, but for a completely different reason now. I try not to think that he has an arm supporting my hips and a hand that's placed on the small of my back. I've never been this close to somebody of the opposite gender.

My teeth chatter as a shiver rocks through my body. "T-t-took you long e-enough..."

He arches a brow. "Still cold?"

The answer is so obvious that I almost want to facepalm myself, but I can't seem to move my freezing hands, much less wiggle those fingers. "D-duh!"

He studies me with a frown. Without a word of warning, he swims us over to the center of Milliken Pond. I'm convinced his wounds are healed. His movement is fluid and almost mesmerizing to watch until my phobia kicks right in again.

"W-wait!" I yelp, clutching onto him tightly. Why the hell is he bringing me farther away from land, knowing that I can't swim? "W-where are we going? Are there any more mutants below?"

"Yes and no," he answers quietly. "They're dead. I killed them when I went down below earlier."

"T-that fast? I literally heard and saw nothing!"

There's a slight pause in the air as he inhales deeply. His expression winces a little, and I know it's because he hates being forced to eliminate his own kind. "In the water, I've full reign over my powers," he explains. "They cannot win against me."

From the way he responded, I'm now curious to see the extent of his powers. If he is going to pull out a trident from behind his back like Poseidon, I won't be surprised at all. In fact, he needs to give me my very own magical surfing board that rides on waves, just like how Aladdin had his magic carpet that glided through the air on its own.

"Did you see the water faeries?! They pushed me down into the water earlier."

"Faeries?" Zarius repeats in confusion and his gaze travels back to where we came from. "Ah, them. They are not affected by whatever is in the water, if that's what you're wondering. Faeries are rather sensitive and protective creatures."

The knowledge catches me by surprise. "They...aren't mutated?"

But they attacked me?!

As if on cue, the group of faeries which attacked me several minutes ago fly above our heads and around us. In the water reflection, they look just like Christmas lights; small, bright and colorful. As they hover around us with batting wings, they garble in a foreign language to Zarius, and I don't miss the dirty looks they shoot me with.

Nudging Zarius, I whisper into his ear as my eyes keep a cautious lookout in case they attack me again. "What are they saying? They look as if they're intending to gorge my eyes out any moment now."

Zarius tips his head towards a certain direction and the faeries immediately scatter off to leave us alone. "They thought you hurt me."

I scoff out loud, yet a flood of relief wash over me. "Overprotective much?"

This time, Zarius gives off a very human-like reaction that I've never seen him do—a humorous shrug—and I burst out laughing in between hysteria and silliness in this whole situation.

A mere human hurting a merfolk who can crush my skull with his bare hands? Gosh.

Amusement slowly fades from Zarius's features, and he returns to the problem at hand. My problem.

"Your fear of water," he deduces, "is what disrupts your abilities. You need to overcome it."

From the look he gives me, he doesn't have to spell out word for word about what he is planning to have me do. Panic sets in on me quickly, and I thwack his shoulder once. Damn, his muscles are as hard as steel and might have actually cracked some of my knuckles. "No, no, no! I know what you're thinking right now, but I can't do this!"

"Hear me out, halfling. I won't let you come to harm."

"Easier said than done!"

A brief silence lapses between us. "Why don't we make an exchange?" he suggests thoughtfully. "You can tell me more about your life on the surface, and I will teach you how to swim."

I don't know what to think about that idea. There is a distance between us and Milliken Pond. I don't think I can make my way back without drowning and flopping like a dead fish in front of Zarius.

"Fine," I give in. My mind is already thinking of several ways I'm getting back at him for this. "Let's get this done and over with."

His hold tightens around me a little. "Take a deep breath, Delia." His electro-blue eyes effortlessly hold me in place. "Trust me."

When he lowers us deeper into the water slowly, I'm internally freaking out. My limbs are stiff and freezing. Yet, when he removes his hand from my back and takes my left hand instead, as if he's trying to give me moral support, I'm taken by surprise by the sheer intensity in his gaze.

At this rate, I don't need the sea to drown me in, not when his entire presence can do that.

Trust him.

And I do. Of course, I trust him. Ever since we met, he has never left me behind.

And I don't think I ever want him to.

A/N: I know a lot of you have been waiting for such a scene to happen. How was it? 🥰